Shadow IT : the IT department’s biggest headache

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Shadow IT has been a huge problem for businesses over the past few years. With an increasing amount of downloadable software available online, unapproved usage causes a massive headache for IT and compliance departments.

In most cases people aren’t deliberately trying to sabotage the company, they are downloading software to improve their productivity. In large companies, this could so easily go unnoticed as individual computers aren’t fully monitored by the IT department. With this in mind, there’s a huge threat to data security and the company’s IT infrastructure by running systems that have not been tested or audited.

Shadow IT encapsulates the modern workplace: the desire to be more productive without going through all the red tape. Whilst these solutions may work in theory, a lot of the time IT departments are being asked to update and support systems that they didn’t even know existed.

A great solution to this, rather than IT locking down PCs and introducing strict regulations, is to have a hosted desktop system in the office. It’s centrally operated, supported, and using it feels just like you’re on a normal desktop PC. It means that IT departments have greater control over what is being installed and run on computers, and creates a safer internal IT infrastructure.